Death… And Me

"Of course!" Rean nodded. "We had to go out ahead of time to prevent some unnecessary trouble."

"Unnecessary trouble?" Yuan asked back.

Rean pointed back to the palace. "Both you and I are only at Stage Six. As for the others, they are all at Stage Seven and Eight. If we enter the Heavenly Marine Tunnel, do you think they will just ignore us?"

Yuan found it weird. "But they agreed to let me be after Tana accepted the terms of this competition. Of course, I\'m not saying I\'m afraid of entered the tunnel. I had to do some pretty crazy shit to cultivate so far with my weak bloodline, just not as risky as this task ahead."

*Pah!*

*Ouch!*

Rean slapped Yuan\'s back head, much to his confusion. "Why did you do that?"

"Because you are an idiot," Rean didn\'t measure words. "The agreement was that regardless of the outcome of the contest, the other races wouldn\'t drop the offense you caused. That didn\'t mean they would never touch you, especially inside this Heavenly Marine Tunnel. If anything, that is the perfect place to get rid of you to prevent more problems in case one of them manages to get a Jade and come back." Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

"This..." Yuan felt a chill on his back. "We need to hurry before they catch up to us."

Rean nodded and activated his Divine Sense Bending Skill slightly. After confirming he was outside of the range of the Spiritual Senses of the Saramina Sea Demon Palace, he increased his Bending Skill to its maximum strength while also activating the Light Bending Skill. Just like that, Rean and Yuan disappeared in the middle of the ocean without a trace.

Rean was right. Just a few minutes after they left, the other Sea Demon Beasts like Denyu, Clodou, Wipped, and the others left the Demon Palace as well. They all looked at each other, but above all, they had their Spiritual Senses spread to find Yuan. They brought a few Stage Six and Seve Subordinates with them and charged ahead as fast as possible. If Rean and Yuan had taken too long, they would have already become targets.

Well, if that really happened, Rean could easily escape with Yuan. But that would also reveal he isn\'t a weak Demon Beast like everyone else thinks.

---

Since Rean was outside of everyone senses, he didn\'t hold back and released his full power. He wasn\'t the one pulling Yuan, though. They were underwater, and Yuan would have a much better time traveling through it in his real form. If Rean goes all out, he could slightly surpass Yuan\'s speed, but that would spend too much Spiritual Energy. Instead, he used his Spiritual Energy in Yuan\'s body.

\'Life Style, Enhancement!\'

A burst of Light Element entered Yuan\'s body, strengthening it beyond what he had ever been able to. His fins moved as lighting while his body cut through the water of the sea like a rocket. "Holy shit!"

"Hahaha!" Rean always loved to see others\' expressions when they experimented with his enhancement ability for the first time. "Just enjoy the ride. With my skill, you should be no slower than those Stage Seven or maybe Stage Eight Sea Demon Beasts while moving underwater."

Yuan felt excited and used even more of his Spiritual Energy while Rean stayed on his back. The Horned Cloud Shark passed by the underwater floor in a flash. Fortunately, it was all covered by Rean\'s efforts.

It still took Rean and Yuan two days of travel to swim all the way to the Heavenly Marine Tunnel, though. When they were finally getting close, Rean Divine Bending Skill caught someone\'s presence. "Stop!"

Yuan immediately halted, looking at Rean with a tired expression. "W-What is it?"

"Someone arrived first, a Stage Nine Sea Demon Beast. It is hiding near the entrance," Rean explained.

"Stage Nine?!" Yuan definitely didn\'t want to fight such an opponent. "Is this guy here to kill us?"

"Maybe," Rean shrugged. "Or perhaps he was sent to watch over the Tunnel under Drefin\'s orders. Maybe he had always been here since this place is too important for the Saramina Demon Palace. He could even be here to kill everyone else other than his own master. It\'s impossible to tell."

"What do we do? Can we enter the Heavenly Marine Tunnel?" Yuan asked, not moving at all.

Rean pondered a bit and checked the map yuan passed to him on the way. "He is hiding pretty much above the entrance. My concealing skill will not work if we get so close to him." Then he decided. "Alright, let\'s enter."

"Enter?!" Yuan was taken aback. "But if he decides to attack us..."

"Stop complaining and just go!" Rean didn\'t give him a chance to complain. "If it turns dangerous, I have a way to save us. Now, move!"

Yuan bitterly smiled and swam ahead again. Rean didn\'t even bother to keep his Divine Sense and Light Bending Skill anymore. So, the Stage Nine Demon Beast immediately caught his presence.

Finally, Yuan arrived in front of the Heavenly Marine Tunnel and gritted his teeth, diving into it. Yet, to his surprise, the hiding Stage Nine Demon Beast didn\'t do anything and continued to hide. Rean and Yuan entered the Tunnel without problems. "So... he didn\'t come to kill us, it seems."

"Hard to say," Rean answered as he felt the Stage Nine Demon Beast further and further away. "He might truly be here just to watch the tunnel and prevent any participants from bringing high-level experts with them. Or, he could attack anyone who comes out of the tunnel in the future to steal the Jade. It matters little. What mattered was that he most likely wouldn\'t attack us, and I was right. We can think about it again once we return."

And as always, any Golden Tickets and Stones are welcome. ;)